Long ago I realized that my worldview was very much shaped by my grandparents on my father’s side. This was due to the fact that I spent probably more time with them than with my parents. My grandparents were one generation removed from the Civil War. In fact, their relatives had served in the Civil War. One even had a pension because her husband had died in the war. I was surprised to be able to find an actual paper record of when she applied and how much she was given. If I remember correctly, it was right around five dollars a month. We have to remember that five dollars then was worth a great deal more than it is today. My grandparents were born in the days of the horse and buggy and survived until men walked on the moon. Both sets of my grandparents had been pioneers. One side, Angells, came over before the founding of the country and came over with Roger Williams. This is what Wikipedia says about him, “Roger Williams was a Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious freedom, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with American Indians, and he was one of the first abolitionists.” The other side of the family came to the United States much later. It was Magnus Leef who was born in Sweden in 1833 and came to this country shortly after the Civil War.
They definitely had a different philosophy of life. It was one of self-sufficiency and independence. That describes the philosophy but it’s not exactly fair. As an example, letting me do something as simple as cooking. I would be shown how to do something once and then expected to be able to duplicate it. My first efforts were not that great but edible. I improved. I was taught to use an ax. I was then expected to use it. Always these things taught me to learn something and then use what I learned. Today you would not teach a child to use an ax and then let them proceed to use it without supervision. I didn’t realize that I was being taught self-sufficiency and independence until I was in college. I told the story here previously are being caught in a snowstorm on foot and realizing it was impossible to make it home. I camped out until the storm passed and then went home. I was greeted with a simple, “I bet you’re hungry.” I had been expected to take care of myself in the snowstorm and not expect to be rescued. It’s what they would have faced as pioneers. There would’ve been no one to rescue them.
Those lessons serve me today. An example is as I became disabled I would easily fall. It became apparent to me that I had to learn to get up again. In the house that was easy. I could crawl over to a chair or table and use it to stand up. However, if I felt outside how could I get up? I practice various techniques so that I would not be reliant on anyone else. When I discussed this with physical therapists, they had never heard of anyone practicing falling and getting up. It only made sense to me to be as independent as possible. I also had learned as a child that I didn’t know how to do some things or they were beyond me to do because I didn’t have the physical strength to do them. An example of that is butchering in the fall. I didn’t have the physical strength to be able to hang a hog carcass for butchering. All these lessons have served me well but they definitely do not fit with today’s thinking.
